EC wrestlers ready for the postseason

ELLWOOD CITY – Ellwood City, now only in its third season since the wrestling program was reactivated, is assured a winning season and has also advanced to the WPIAL playoffs.

“I’m happy with that,” said Coach Craig Alberts as his Wolverines begin competition in the team playoffs at 6 p.m. today at Burgettstown High School.

The Wolverines, 12-4 overall, will face off against South Fayette while Burgettstown will take on Avella.

These matches will be followed by the consolation and championship matches beginning at 7:30 p.m. The winner of both matches will be the “true section champion,” Alberts said. Section 1-AA is divided into 1A-AA and 1B-AA. The winner of both matches will also advance to the WPIAL team championships scheduled for Jan. 29 at a site to be determined. The WPIAL team wrestling sectionals (1-AA) semifinals will also be broadcast this week on the MSA Sports Network on WJPA-FM 95.3 and on MSA’s website at www.msasports.net by Bob Gregg.

There will be seven section tournaments which will determine the seed for the WPIAL team tournaments. Other Class AA sectional tournaments will take place at Derry (Section 2) and Burrell (Section 3). Burgettstown and South Fayette have both won their subsection, Alberts noted. Alberts is optimistic about his team’s chances in the sectional, but noted that South Fayette is “loaded” with talent and “provides strong competition at every weight class.”

Of the other teams in the section Ellwood City has “first hand experience against Burgettstown,” Alberts said.

The Wolverines fell to Burgettstown, 48-24, on Jan. 8.

“Hopefully we’ll do better the second time around,” Alberts said of the Wolverines’ potential playoff opponent.

During the match with Burgettstown, senior Brad Grinnen and junior Mike Sinclair each notched pins, while Donnie Kerr, a senior, and Christian Kerr, a sophomore, each won by decision. Grinnen pinned Burgettstown’s Brandon Krynak in 1:43 in their 195-pound match while Sinclair pinned Ryan Pendeville in 5:41 in their 220-pound match.

“I think we will do pretty well as long as we all work hard,” Sinclair said during Tuesday’s practice session. “We need to keep our heads on straight and wrestle the way we know we can wrestle,” he said.

“South Fayette is a strong team, but if we wrestle hard we can beat them,” Grinnen said. Grinnen, who has been with the wrestling program since it began anew, has suffered only two losses this season.

Ellwood City has a number of wrestlers that have been steadily improving as the season progressed, including sophomore Adam Foreman. This is his first year of competition at a very tough weigh class – heavyweight (285 pounds). Foreman won a silver medal at the Slippery Rock Tournament earlier this month and had a pin on Jan. 15 against Laurel’s James Brown in 2:38.

“I think we have a pretty good chance of winning (at the sectional) if everyone works hard,” Foreman, who is in perhaps the toughest weight class, noted that wrestling two matches in one night is physically draining.

Despite the drawbacks he said that the Wolverines have “a real good chance” of advancing.

Tickets for the sectional are $5 for students and $7 for adults and are available only at the door.

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